Just wondering when most people are getting their first service required indicator? I'm currently slated to get it done at 7500 miles but I've read that some people on here didn't get the service reminder until 12000 miles.

Just wondering what the average is...

 

mine was near 12k. i just took it in because it was 1 year.

 

Mine is hovering at approximately 10,700 miles.

AFAIK, the service interval is determined by the amount of "stress" that your engine receives. So if you're running your Mini extremely hard, doing predominately local stop-and-go driving, starting and stopping the engine often, or playing hide-and-seek with friendly police officers, you're likely to have your first service sooner.

 

Mine was around 12,000. My second is going to be around 32,000.

mb

 

My first oil change indicator went off at around 14,600 miles!!!

Yes, you read that correctly. It just seems so very wrong to me, especially for the very first oil change, but my MA told me "I don't even want to see your car in here for an oil change, unless your car's oil service indicator has gone off". If I were to have shown up a couple thousand miles earlier than that, he said he wouldn't change my oil for me (for free, anyway). So he was actually quite strict about following my car's oil service schedule.

Again, this goes against every shred of automotive common sense I have. I grew up with the motto, "Change your oil every 3000 to 5000 miles—no more".

 

Okay, so what happens if I decide I want to change mine at every 5000? (In terms of the oil change indicator I mean)...is this going to foul the whole system up?

 

No it won't foul up the system, they just won't reset the service indicator and you free one will come up at the normal interval.

BTW, my 1st oil change was schedule for around 12,000 miles as the others have said, but my dealer said I could have it done based on either the actual stated mileage or the service interval.

 

Just go ahead and change it. The system remembers things like RPM and mileage; it doens't actually test the oil viscosity or anything. So by replacing your oil and filter it won't move your service date back. I already changed the oil in my Mini at about 5000 miles, and I'l take it in again when the service indicator goes off at 7500 miles.

 

Took mine in for first oil service a tad under 10,000...

 

Mine was at 11,500

 

okay, just as i was hoping...i'm at about 2600 miles now and have just been wondering what I was going to do about my oil...there's no way I could just let it go till 10-12k miles without an oil change

 

Did my first change myself (Redline 5w30) ay 2200 miles. Dealer did free one at 11k using my Redline oil. I did 3rd myself at 16K and will have dealer do the next when indicater gets to zero (currently saying another 9K miles)

 

Mine was at 8800 miles (did an extra oil change myself at 3500).

 

I just had mine done yesterday at 12600. It now shows the next change at 35500 which I think is way too long.

 

Mine is hovering near 12K, with 3K left to get there.

 

Mine was @ 13,500. That was after 2 oil changes I completed after every 5,000.

 

im at 10900 and it still says 2000 more miles. I feel weird letting it go that long, but the dealer wont change it unless its within 1000 of the magic number...

supposedly he said since I dont a lot of highway and my car sat undriven for a few months (was in the shop) it calculates the right mileage...

 

It is based on fuel consumption. Thats it. not rpm, load, heat, etc... directly. All those things boil down to fuel consumption.

 

I can see how that would make sense. How do you know this though?

What do most people here average? I get about 20mpg on the tripcomp.

 

I know this because of bmw training. Some newer systems are starting to use more inputs to "read" the oil. Basically, the gas used to miles driven ratio shows how hard the car is driven and how much fuel can be mixed with the oil.

I'm getting 26mpg with my modded mcs. That's mixed driving and the highway part is usually in heavy traffic. I have actually seen my mpg get better with each mod. It started at 22mpg and is now up to 26mpg.

 

MINI might use the OZS sensor in the 07 models. I've never gotten good mpg..always hovered around 24-25mpg and that was almost strictly highway driving. Good to see that your mpg is improving w/ mods! haha

 

on a similar note, when should you add more oil? I can't read my %$#@ dipstick. I only have 3k and the oil is still pretty clear, but that piece of crap dipstick is hard to read. Should I just add a quart to be safe?

 

No. Do not just add a quart. If you are having trouble reading the dip stick, then get a good close up look at it when you first pull it out. I mean a long time. You will start to notice stuff after a while. Then use a paper towel to wipe it completely dry. When you pull it back I'll bet you can read it.

I had a girl friend that added about a quart a week until it could barely idle. I couldn't believe the what the dip stick looked like.

 

It's true. I'm seeing around a 1.5-2 mpg improvement (from ~23 to ~25.5) city driving with just a new intake on the car. And that's driving more aggressively

 

Dealers don't want to change oil if milage indicator not at or near zero miles. They will however do it if it has been one year since last oil change (or since the car was purchased)